Guingamp – Rennes Preview

Guingamp may have been the ones that benefited the most from the international break. They are also involved in Europa League and playing in that tournament really affects their Ligue1 performances.

Rotation is out of the question as they have a small squad so tiredness quickly accumulates. Because of Europa League they suffered one of the most shameful defeats in their entire Ligue1 history, lost 7-2 on home ground against Nice.

But the reality is they aren’t that bad as some of the results suggest. There is tremendous creative potential in midfield with the trio Pied – Marveaux – Beauvue improving as round goes by. Central midfielder Sankhare is also very active since returning from injury.

The problem is in defense where fullbacks are kind of absent minded and central midfielders never provide enough support.

Guingamp should welcome back striker Schwartz after injury but will miss midfielder Yatabare through suspension.

Opponents Rennes were in great form just before the international break. Striker Toivonen missed a couple of rounds, but even so, things looked great upfront mainly thanks to young winger Ntep.

Ntep is one of the most talented young French players and there shouldn’t be any doubt that pretty soon major European clubs will start bombarding him with offers.
Midfielder Doucoure is also in top form and was very active lately, initiating actions and delivering key passes.

Guests will miss winger Henrique who is suspended but they have proper replacements for that position. On the other hand they will welcome back striker Toivonen who missed a couple of rounds due to injury.

This will be a difficult encounter with Guingamp looking to exit the red zone and Rennes waiting for the mistake that will assure another good result. We may not recognize Guingamp seeing it’s been quite a while since they were fresh and not affected by tiredness.